Tail-gate for wagons.



f Patented sept.` |8, |900.

J. M. LILLPDP.

TAIL GATE FR WAGONS.

(Applicatiun led Mar. 14, 1900.)

(No Model.)

ll Il y:

Y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

.IEssE M. LILLPoP, oF KYA'NA, INDIANA.

TAIL-'GATE FOR wAGoNs.

SPECIFICATION forming part ef Letters Patent No. 657,946, dated september 18, 1900.

' Application iiled March 14, 1900. Serial No. 8,688. KNO model.)

To all 14171/0771/ it may concern,.- l

Be it known that I, JESSE M. LILLPOP, a citizen of the United States, residing at-Kyana, in the county of Dubois, State of Indiana, have invented cert-ain new and useful Improvements in Tail-Gates for Wagons, and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,

- clear, and exact description of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to supporting means for the tail-gates of Wagons; and its object is to provide a device of this nature which will permit the gate to be supported at various angles to the bottom of the wagon-bed without the use of chains or hooks, such as are now in common use; and with this object in view I have constructed a device of this nature such as is described in this specification and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which like characters of reference indicate similar parts in the several views, and in which- Figure l is a side elevation of a wagon-bed to which my invention is applied. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same, and Fig. 3 is a detail view.

As shown in the drawings, my invention comprises a notched segment a, secured to one side of a wagon-bed b and provided with an upwardly-directed flangev c at its outer edge, its inner edge being secured to the bed andnotches d being formed upon its upper face.

Transversely of the tail-gate e, which is pivoted to the bottom of the bed f in the usual manner, is secureda rod g, one end of which projects beyond the side of the bed to which the segment is secured, and to this projecting end is pivoted an arc-shaped latch h, having a downwardly-turned end 1I, adapted to engage the notches of the segment.

Pivoted to one side of the Wagon-bed, di-

y rectly above the latch h, is a lever lo, upon one end of which are formed fingers l and m, which engage the latch h atits upper and lowersides, respectively. Thelower end of the lever extends above the bed to form a handle. Also secured to the side ofthe wagon, directly above the pivot-point of the lever k, is a second segment n, provided with notches at its ends toreceive a trigger o, pivoted to the handle portion of the lever, whereby the lever and the latch h may be held in a raised or lowered position.

The rod g maybe mounted as shown in Fig. 2, and in this View, as I have shown, the rod is being slidably supported by staples 2 and provided with a handle 3, adapted to hang downwardly and lie between studs 4, secured to the tail-gate ofthe wagon. The object of this construction is as follows: Should it be desired to allow the tail-gate to hang straight down from the bottom of the wagon-bed, the handle 3 is raised from between the studs and the rod is forced to one side, thereby withdrawing its end from the eye at the end of the latch h. The gate will then be free from its connection with the said latch, and it may be allowed to drop and resume the position above mentioned. If it is not desired to arrange the rod g in this manner, it may be secured rigidly to the tailgate. If desired, a segment corresponding to the segment a may be secured to the opposite side of the wagon-body, and a similar mechanism to that described may be also secured to the opposite side of the wagon to operate in connection therewith. In this event the rod should be secured rigidly in position, and both of its ends should extend beyond the sides of the wagon-bed.

The operation of my invention is as follows: Supposing the tail-gate to which my invention is applied is closed and it is desired that it shall be either partly or entirely opened, the trigger o is pressed against the handle of the lever lo, freeing it from the notch of the lower end of the segment n. The lever 7c is then raised until the trigger falls into the notch at the upper end of 'the segment, which action will in turn raise the latch h through the medium of the finger m and will allow the downwardly turned end r' to pass over the notches of the segment 0L until the tail-gate has reached the desired angle. The trigger o is then again pressed against the lever 7c, which will allow the said lever and the latch h to fall, when the end of the latter will engage a notch upon the segment, and the lever having reached its downward limit of motion the trigger will spring into the notch at the lower end of the segment n, thereby holding the lever in its position, the finger l upon it-s end at the same time holding the turned-over end of the latch h in engagement with the segment. When the lever k and the latch h are thus secured in a depressed position, the end of the latch Will not jolt from its engagement with the notches of the segment should the wagon meet with an obstruction or be passing over rough or stony ground.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- A A Support for the tail-gates of Wagons and similar vehicles comprising a notched segment Secured to the bed of the vehicle, a rod mounted transversely of. the tail-gate having an end projecting therebeyond, a latch pivoted to the projecting end adapted to engage JESSE M. LILLPoP.

Witnesses:

J. F. TILLMAN, I-I. C. WILLIAMS. 

